At some point between the flyby performed by the Doves of Peace and the hilarious antics of the Human Imitator, Rapper Will.o.be. took to the stage at yesterday’s Celebration of the Winter Solstice and made a stirring pledge:

“Last week, I was acquitted of abusing a beloved Park Oak Tree, but I know there are still many Animals here who believe I am guilty,” he said.

“I know there’s nothing I can do about that. I can’t change their minds. But I can help to improve the lives of all of us in The Park. That’s why I’m here today…to tell you that, as I stand before you, I pledge to plant twelve Oak saplings on this very site in the Spring. And may those Trees grow tall and may they be as strong as the founders of zoocracy and the citizens of this Park.”

Roars of applause followed an initial moment of silent disbelief. After the popular Park singer was escorted from the stage, the celebration continued and although he was scheduled to sing a few hours later, the rap artist bowed out, calling for an encore from Jargonhead, instead.

Later on in the day, the still emotional audience left the star alone while he feasted on the offerings of The Compost Heap and The Battering Ram Café, but many were forthright in their praise of his actions.

“I think he’s doing the best he can under the circumstances,” said Dewi Beruang, who attended every Park festival this year, including the Beats of Burden.

“He’s got goodness in him and now he’s sharing it with us and I think we all appreciate that,” she said.

The Department of Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations has announced the itinerary and lineup for the 2013 Celebration of the Winter Solstice.

At a press conference today, the Department’s director of public relations, Aintza Kanariar, said she was “thrilled” to announce that this year’s festivities will begin at sunrise on December 21, as they did last year.

“This is only the second time in seven years that the Winter Solstice celebrations have begun at sunrise,” she said. “Based on the success of last year’s Celebration and after reviewing the results of a participant survey, we have concluded that sunrise is the most appropriate time to begin.”

The Celebration will incorporate some of the most successful components of last year’s festivities with some “new and innovative” elements, Kanariar said.

Some of The Park’s most popular music makers will perform, including Eggie and The Pigs, The DomEstyx, The Feral Four, Banded Brothers, SponaneousGeneration, The Beasts of Burden and the Endeka Elephant Band. Rapper Jargonhead has confirmed his appearance, as have The Tweeters. And, despite rumours to the contrary, Rapper Will.o.be., who was recently acquitted of charges involving the abuse of an Oak Tree, said through a representative that he is “very much looking forward to providing some of the entertainment at the Winter Solstice Celebration.”

Once again, The Herman Stoat Dance Company will perform a new work, created for the occasion. This year’s dance, choreographed by Stoat himself, will celebrate The Park’s interspecial life. The dance, entitled, “On the Cusp of a Dream,” will feature some of the company’s newest members, including a number of promising non-Mammalian dancers whom Stoat recently recruited.

Other entertainment acts will include jugglers, clowns, and a Human imitator. And, while students from the Hani Gajah School of Art will paint “three-minute portraits” of Solstice celebrants, the Park Historical Society will offer revellers the opportunity to dress up in a variety of costumes and represent Park historical figures.

As always, a major component of the festivities will be the food. This year, The Compost Heap and The Battering Ram Café will provide the festive fare, while Ants in Your Pantry and Provisions by Petrounel will once again send all attendees home with tasty party favours.

The Celebration of the Winter Solstice begins at sunrise on December 21. Food will be served until 11:00 pm.

A little more than a month after organizing the Polar Bears’ Poetry Picnic, Seymour K. Worthington Polar Bear has agreed to serve as head judge of the 2013 Toe-Hair Contest.

After The Park’s Department of Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations made the announcement this morning, the winner of the 2012 Toe-Hair Contest spent a few minutes fielding the media’s questions before heading to his office.

Standing in front of the Ancient, Open-Air Theatre, the site of tomorrow’s event, Worthington asserted that he was feeling “invigorated rather than spent” after the Poetry Picnic, and pooh-poohed the idea, expressed by some media representatives, that he was “spreading himself too thin.”

“Nonsense,” he said. “I’m in fighting shape…[I’m] a good weight and I have a keen eye, and not just for poetry,” he joked.

He added that the Poetry Picnic had allowed him to hone his “Animal” skills and learn to work well with others.

“That is an important requirement of any organizer, but also of a head judge among [other] judges,” he said.

According to the Contest rules, the head judge votes along with his peers, but his vote also has the potential to end a tie among the other four judges.

“The position is an important one,” said Aintza Kanariar, Director of Public Relations for the department, at the time of the announcement.

“Should there be a tie, the head judge, who is an Animal with greater expertise than the other judges, has the ability to choose the winner. It is a position of responsibility that calls for a great deal of knowledge and personal integrity,” she said.

The other four contest judges are Marsha Shrew, Barton L. Bradypus, JerMain Jerboa, and Gabrielle T. Gecko, whose grandfather, Samuel P. Gecko, was awarded second prize in the 2004 contest.

The event, which is in its 18th year, is set to commence at 10:00 a.m. Park time.